Drowning Dragon
by juviass
Summary: He's the dragon, distraught over being unable to protect his Princess. And she's the Princess, dead in the arms of the twisted Prince.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**A response to litashe's Fairy Tail Writing Challenge.  
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><p><em>Erza had picked out our job for the week, which was eliminating a band of bandits whose base was just outside the city of Shirotsume Town. We were walking back to our hotel from dinner, which went by surprisingly calmly.<br>_

_Once we reached our hotel, Natsu shouted a quick, "I'm going to borrow Lucy! Bye!" then ran off, with me in tow, as I shrieked about how kidnapping me at 10 pm at night was not a good idea._

_One he reached a secluded enough alley, the Dragon Slayed stopped at let go of my wrist. Then, before I could comprehend the meaning behind his strange behavior, Natsu spoke._

_"I like you, Lucy," he said, looking at me boldly._

_"I like you too, Natsu," I responded nonchalantly. He had said this often enough at the guild, so I wasn't phased. "Like you've said so many times before, we're best friends. Why _wouldn't_ I like you?"_

_Natsu shook his head, looking down at his feet. "No, that's not what I mean."_

_I cocked my head to the side, confused. That's not what he meant?_

_He took a deep breath, then looked into my eyes seriously. "I... I _like_ like you, Lucy."_

_"_Like_ like?" I repeated shocked. The male only nodded, and as I searched his face, I realized that he wasn't joking around. Was that why he was so silent all day? Was he actually putting thought into this, planning this moment?_

_"It means I love you, stupid. Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, and I swore I saw a faint tinge of pink dust his cheeks._

_Finally computing the message, I abruptly flared red, and began stuttering incomprehensibly. "Wh-What? A-A-Actually? I dunno how to— I-I mean, I'm not sure if—" Clearly, the romance novel I had been reading as of late was getting to my head._

_Then Natsu planted a soft peck on my lips, and grinned widely. "Great, I'm taking that as a yes!" He grabbed my hand, intertwined our fingers, and dragged me back to the hotel._

_And I didn't resist, because how am I supposed to deny that I love him too?  
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><p>But that was yesterday. Yesterday was a fun, carefree day. The type of day I had come to call <em>typical<em> at my home, Fairy Tail.

Today's the absolute opposite. Today, I stand before the leader of the bandits from the mission Erza had accepted for us yesterday, completely and utterly exhausted on the past war ground I now call the battlefield.

I do a quick once-over of my battered and bruised body.

There's a small wound on the left side of my head, where an pict bullet had scraped it, staining my blond hair red and dripping blood down and past my left eye, restricting its vision. Three small scratches from three separate knives on my right arm, one huge, gaping gash on my left. My legs have numerous bruises and scratches all over, and holy shit, is that an _arrow_ sticking out of my stomach? That's certainly going to leave a mark.

"Does that hurt, little miss?" the leader of the bandits, former S-Class Mage of the Dark Guild Red Hood, laughs maniacally. Strands of black hair fly out of the red hood that covers half of his hideously scarred face as he throws his head back and howls. I decide to call him Scar.

"Not one bit!" I shout defiantly, legs shaking as I struggle to keep myself upright. I lunge for Fleuve d'étoiles, but a pict lion roars and catches me in the gut. I cry out as the previously embedded arrow moves in deeper, then gasp I get slammed onto my back and the arrow shifts out the other way.

Scar, a buff-looking, rather tall man, saunters over to where I lie tauntingly slowly, as I attempt to gather enough strength in my arms to push myself up.

"My my, still trying? Don't you know when to give up?" he asks, lifting me up by my neck. I immediately start to claw at what I can see of his bare, impossibly pale arm, digging my nails in as deep as I can. Scar doesn't even look distracted.

"I won't..." I manage to cough, meeting what I hope are his eyes. "I won't, because I'm from Fairy Tail!"

"Hmm?" My opponent cocks his head, then breaks out into a grin fit for someone tied up in a strip jacket. "If you're so strong, then maybe I should pull out this!" His free hand grabs the shaft of the arrow sticking out of my stomach, and he twists it around, jerking it forward. I can bear the pain until I feel the head of the arrow touch my back, and Scar pulls it out painfully slowly while twisting, making sure to turn it in a full circle as it's only halfway out. I let out an agonized scream.

The hand around my throat constricts, causing me to cough and gasp for breath. Scar laughs again, and I can't help the shiver that runs through my body as he touches a dagger on his notebook, peeling the uncannily sharp blade out with his magic.

"Ooo, where should I injure next? Should it be your face?" He drags the blade across the right side of my face, drawing blood. "Or maybe the other side of your belly?" The blade pierces through the fabric of my shirt, but doesn't go deep enough to do much damage. "I'll let you pick!"

Unable to form an answer due to the pressure on my throat, I gather up what little saliva I have left in my mouth, and spit it at him. I can see the furious glare in his eyes, and I grin at him, despite how much my brain is shouting at me not to. Apparently, that's his last straw.

Scar throws me at the remains an old but sturdy house with surprising force, and I crash through one brick wall before slamming into another. I hear three loud bangs emitting from what I assume is a pict cannon, and the ceiling caves in, the front wall shatters, the entire house collapses _on top of me_.

The dust clears a few moments later, and I don't want to look at the mess that is my body. But I do. I have to. I need to find out if I can still get up and _fight_.

My right arm is stuck underneath a pile of broken bricks. I can't move it, so I assume it's broken.

My left is still visible, but it's still bleeding from the earlier gash. It hurts.

My torso is covered in the wood from the ceiling and dust from shattered bricks. And there's a piece of wood sticking out of my right shoulder.

Alright, both my arms are out of commission. But I still have my legs. I'll do to him what I did to Master Jose. Perfect. I look down at where my legs should be.

Not perfect.

I can't see them, can't move them, can't feel them. All I see are bricks, more bricks, and three thick, heavy support beams.

Crunch, crack, creak. Those are the sounds I hear as I watch Scar approach me, pict gun in hand. He surveys the damage, and whistles, long and low.

Then as he turns to look at me, I throw a piece of broken brick at his head. I hear a satisfying _thud_ as it hits his forehead, and a thin, barely noticeable line of blood trickles from the tiny wound.

And I think, _Well, at least I managed to injure him,_ before his gun cracks and my world goes black.

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><p>Then suddenly I'm floating. Remembering what Erza had told me before about when she almost died trying to sacrifice herself to the R-System, I come to a single conclusion. I'm dead, and I'm watching a scene unfold from bird's eye view.<p>

Erza, Gray, and Natsu are all working to lift the last of the three support beams from my legs, and Happy is picking out as many bricks as he can to try and uncover my right arm. I spot Scar a little ways away, unconscious and bound up.

When the beam finally tumbles off of me, no, my _body_, I see Gray blanch, Erza gag, Happy cry, Natsu's face flare up in anger. From my spot in the sky, I cringe; no wonder I wasn't able to feel my legs.

Erza's the first one to move. She takes stiff steps towards me, red Hakama fluttering around her ankles. She put a hand to my neck, feeling for a heartbeat. The way her face tenses up, and how she doesn't dare meet the boys' eyes when she stands, tells them all they need to know.

Thunder rumbles in the distance.

Natsu lets out an animalistic growl and stomps over to where Scar is, shaking him furiously with tears in his eyes and demanding over and over, "Give Lucy back! Give _my_ Lucy back!"

_Plip. Plip. Plop.__  
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"Lucy..." Erza whispers, leaning onto Gray and sobbing into his chest. Gray puts a reassuring hand on Erza's back, but his face is all but that. His shoulders are shaking, and he's biting his lip so hard it draws blood. Tears prick the corner of his eyes.

_Plip. Plip. Plop.  
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"Luuuucyyyy!" Happy wails, burying his face in my chest. I catch a glimpse of my Keys, splayed out in a neat semi-circle. The way the rain slides off each and every Key makes it look like my Spirits are crying, too. I bite my lip and force myself to look away.

_Plip. Plip. Plop._

"Lucy!" Natsu lifts his head and howls at the sky. He's crying. "Lucy!_"_

_Plip._

_Plip._

_Plop._

The floodgates creak, then finally give in to the pressure behind them.

_Shaaa..._

And then I'm crying, weeping, tears merging with the sky's as a steady rain falls upon them.

"Everyone..." I mutter, voice slightly muffled by the hands that are covering my mouth, doing their best to prevent the pathetic, pitiful hiccups that escape my lips.

They say my name four more times.

"Lucy..." Erza mumbles, tears streaming down her face.

Three.

"Lu...cy," Gray chokes out, the rain masking his tears.

Two.

"L-L-L-Lucy!" Happy sobs, too distraught to say anything else.

One.

"_LUCY!_" Natsu lifts his head and roars; he's a dragon that's allowed his Princess to be captured, too weak to keep her from the twisted Prince.

Then I'm drifting away, away from my nakama, into the clouds that hide their sorrow, towards the sun that isn't here to light up their world.

My last words before I depart, for real this time, are directed at my boyfriend for a day. My dragon, drowning in a pool of his own tears, his inner fire slowing dying out.

_"I love you... idiot."_

His ears twitch, and I know he's heard me. But I don't even have a chance to hear his response before I'm gone, floating straight into the warm arms of my mother.

_"..."_

_"I love you too, weirdo."_

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><p><strong>Well. This was certainly a lot more sad than I had intended for it to be. I'm not sure if this is really appropriate for a T Rating, with the blood and all. I spared the details of Lucy's legs, because I'd really rather not have someone gag as they're reading this, and I need to stay within the 2100 word limit.<strong>

**Enjoy!  
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